Hari Seldon, thanks for seconding or thirding the museum. If the weather’s not good for walking outside, the museum’ll probably be where I’ll be.
Qadgop the Mercotan, the Sea to Sky gondola looks great. I’m debating going; it’s a Family Day Weekend with reduced rates. The prospective crowds of possibly unruly children make me hesitate.
amarinth, I hope to find some part of Vancouver I recognize from TV or movies. It stands in for so many places.
It was crowded when we went, and parking was a challenge. But once we got up there and got on a trail, the crowds weren’t bad. Even so, if paying more on a less busy day is an option, I’d sure consider it.
Otherwise, go early if possible!
but it’s a lovely way to spend the time either way.
Less busy day? The weekend special covers my entire trip! One reason I chose my first trip to Vancouver in mid-February was hoping for less busy tourist areas. I can do the Sea to Sky on a return trip later in the year.
I was seconded to my company’s Vancouver office some years ago. It was an extended stay, and I was living in a hotel. I was at work all week, but the weekends were mine.
I quickly found that the best way to spend a Saturday morning was in a coffee shop on Robson. I’d get a newspaper, but that was pretty much a dodge; the real entertainment was in people-watching. Great suggestion!
I had some time to wander around Vancouver some years ago and stumbled across their downtown library. It’s a gorgeous building. Probably wouldn’t travel to the city just to see that, but I remember it from my last time there.
If anyone’s still following, my time in Vancouver was great. Friday afternoon after I arrived I wandered around Charleson Park and the shopping streets nearby. It’s beautiful even with the construction fencing next to the seawall. First Timbits eaten on the way back to the hotel.
Saturday was bright and sunny. I took Qadgop’s advice and drove out to the Sea to Sky tramway. Incredible scenery on the drive. I didn’t make it up the mountain; the tram cars were much smaller than I expected and were waving around more than I could take. Vertigo can be a bitch some times. I continued driving out to Squamish to see even more natural beauty and more Timbits. I stopped at many of the viewpoints along the way. At one some divers were in the water. The air temperature wasn’t much above freezing. I don’t know how they did it.
After I returned to the city, I stopped by a few Canadian shops: Hudson Bay, London Drugs, Loblaws–the baked goods looked too good to be true, Canadian Tire. I had to do something to warm up! No one told me the Native Americans would be marching a protest right through the city as I was driving through.
Sunday was my drive out. I took the 91. I couldn’t believe the scenery. The mountains in the background, the skyscrapers in the foreground. The juxtaposition between natural and manmade was almost breathtaking.
Thanks again for your help. I wouldn’t have had such a great time without it.
Glad you had fun!
Glad you liked it! Nitpick (actually more substantial than that): in Canada, it is more appropriate to refer to First Nations or Indigenous peoples rather than “Native Americans.”
Dry suits. 
Damn! You’re right. They were holding “First Nations” signs. How could I forget?
**
Johnny L.A.**: Dry suits? Are you pulling my leg?
Not at all. You wear fleecies under them. One woman I dove with had a small tank of argon for her suit, since argon is more dense than air and provides better insulation.
I dove a wreck off of Nanaimo once, and one of the divers forgot his hood. He put on a Carhartt tuque and dove anyway. He said it wasn’t that bad.
I learned something. That means it was an educational trip along with being relaxing. If only all lessons were so easy.
I can’t find the water temperature in the Strait of Georgia, but I think it’s generally around 42ºF. (Factual data requested.)
I don’t know about the Strait, but the Howe Sound ranges from 42 to 53 degrees in the course of a year.